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Author: Kimberly Payne

New Year New Introductions

As my blog and business have grown over the last year and a half I have strived to share the real me both here on the blog and in social media.  But even those real life glimpses don’t tell everything about me and my life, and if you are new to SSD I thought it would be fun to start the new year with new introductions.

You have probably figured it out by now but I am Kimberly and I am the designer/owner/paper pattern assembler/sewist behind Straight Stitch Designs, it’s a one women show around here.  I love having something in my life that allows me to be creative and fill my closets with loads of custom clothes.

Fit Like a Glove

Sewing jeans has always been on my list of clothing items I wanted to tackle, but there was always something that held me back.  The reality is that it was more fear than anything, they were just so darn intimidating.  The button fly alone was enough for me to only ever make elastic waist pants, ha!  When Lauren of Baste + Gather put out a tester call for her jeans pattern, Birkin Flares, I couldn’t fill out the tester form fast enough.  Can I just quickly skip to the end really quick and say, my first pair fit like a glove!

Birkin Flares from Baste + Gather

My Overstock is Your Gain

When I was preparing for Urban Craft Uprising I was really flying blind.  Having never done a craft show before I had no real idea of how much inventory I would actually need.  When I heard that there were going to be upwards of 10,000 people I thought my plan of action would be to have enough for 1 percent of the people who would come through the doors.  Long story short, I got worried about running out of inventory so I added a bunch of fabric to my order.  Well, my sales weren’t what my anxiety was telling me they may be so I now have a bunch of extra fabric.

Layer Me Up

Pretty much from September until May I am dressed in layers whether it is a heavy sweater and vest or a tank top and cardigan I always have multiple layers on.  Add a cozy scarf and my new favourite hat and you pretty much have my ‘uniform’ for the fall and winter.

While most of my closet is now handmade I still have quite a few pieces that have been around for YEARS.  Most can be found in the form of a cardigan, which could be argued is the best option for a layer, they can pretty much go over anything.  Because I tend to get warm in all my layers I usually wear a tank top under my cardigans, no one likes to have bunchy shirts in the sleeves of your cardigan either.

All About the Chambray

I am not sure why it took me so long to realize how amazing chambray is.  Its the most perfect neutral fabric that works great with almost all woven patterns.  The high waisted Brumby skirt I made recently is what put me over the edge.  It is quite possible I will now make all the things in chambray.

Over the summer I was dreaming of a chambray shirt dress but never seemed to get around to making one.  So when I had the chance to sew the Alder Shirt Dress by Grainline Studios for Indiesew I jumped at the chance.  Because I am a hoarder of fabric I had the most perfect herringbone chambray in my stash that was just calling to be made into a shirt dress.

No Guarantee This is the Last

I am a creature of habit when it comes to sewing.  If I find a pattern that I love I will keep making it over and over in all the fabrics.  When I lengthened the Laurelhurst for my Fall Collection post, I discovered just how much I love that pattern, like so much I want to wear one every day.  The natural thing to do is sew up a bunch so that I can in fact wear one every day.

Running a Creative Business with Postpartum Depression

What if I told you that this first paragraph took me 10 minutes to write.  I am totally just sitting here unsure of how I even start a post that is so different from what you would normally find here, but something that is so much a part of me I wanted to share.

I have postpartum depression and it shapes the person I am today both in my home life and creative life, which in turn shapes my creative business.

The Rain Can’t Stop Me

Let me paint you a picture.  You get up in the morning and realize it is your one drop off day at preschool, there is 2 1/2 hours of freedom to be had in only a few short hours.  Perfect opportunity to do a quick photoshoot after dropoff.  So you get the kids fed and dressed then you put on your outfit do up your hair and makeup and head towards the door with all of your photography stuff and kids backpacks and jackets.  It isn’t until you walk out the door you realize not only is it a little cold but gosh darnit it is raining.

Further Education

Back for another edition of Behind the Scenes.  If you want to catch up on the past posts in this series head over here.

As I have probably said on multiple occasions I had no idea what I was doing when I signed up for the Pattern Workshop course.  Other than a long established love of clothes I had no background in garment design and very little experience in garment construction.  So looking into additional courses and material to strengthen my knowlege has been so important.